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Middletown commission advances new mechanic job, pushes HR to track recruitment and Baker Tilly timeline
Summary
The commission advanced a new mechanic/mechanic-assistant job embedded in the 2025 budget, pressed staff on recruitment tracking and NeoGov add-on software, and set expectations for Baker Tilly's classification study results to arrive in November and be presented later to council.
The General Counsel Commission on Oct. 28 approved moving forward with a newly written job description for two mechanic-level positions (referred to in materials as "mechanic" or "mechanic assistant") embedded in the approved 2025 budget, while asking staff for clearer documentation tying the positions to the budget and for recruitment and classification updates.
Director Richardson presented the position as two lower-tier roles intended to handle routine maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations to free master mechanics for larger work and to address a safety concern of lone workers. "This is essentially going to be an assistant to help with the managing of the large workload of trucks..." Richardson said. Staff said the positions are budgeted in the 2025 plan and that the salary band starts at $24.92 an hour (about $51,008) and can progress to $36.92 an hour (about $76,007.93); the grade midpoint is roughly $61,859.
Members questioned whether the position should be titled "mechanic" (the title used in the budget) rather than "mechanic assistant," and whether the positions require a commercial driver's license (CDL). Richardson and the fleet manager said a CDL is required so hires can move vehicles and be operational across the fleet; air-brake and confined-space certificates would be required within six months. Commissioners also pressed staff about whether converting a master-mechanic slot into two assistants made sense given long-standing vacancies among master mechanics and recruitment difficulties for those higher-skilled roles.
On recruitment, HR recruiter Maria Scarlett described outreach efforts including local job fairs, the Hartford Athletic career expo, and plans to use a NeoGov add-on tracking/headhunting tool to better trace which outreach produced applicants and hires. Richardson said Baker Tilly is finalizing its data work and staff expects results in November with a potential council presentation in December or a separate special meeting.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the job description language for council consideration and clarify the budget title (mechanic vs. mechanic assistant) when the item goes to the council. HR will continue evaluation of NeoGov add-on tools to improve applicant-source tracking.
